Happy Endings!

JEB

Hi my name is Jeb! I was adopted from CASA in 2011 when I was 5 months old. Prior to being adopted I was a stray puppy, fending for myself when I was brought in by the kind people who called CASA. Willie and Katie came and visited me in October and could not resist my sweet demeanor and boundless energy. Since moving in with them two years ago, I have mastered my life as a "trail dog". Each day I wake up and head to work with Willie. We jump in his truck and head up to the trails in Hixon forest. I help him by keeping an eye on the trails and licking him when he takes breaks to let him know he is doing a good job. Sometimes we head on road trips together to visit projects around the state of Wisconsin. When I am at home, I enjoy keeping an eye on my chickens in the backyard, and hanging out with my friend Keno next door. I also love rolling in the snow in winter, laying on my belly in the Mississippi River, hanging out with my cousin Lucy (she is a bulldog:), and going on long runs with Katie and Willie. Sometimes they shake their heads because I rarely run out of energy even after a two hour run I still sprint circles around them. I am so happy that CASA found me and gave me a family in La Crosse and a warm, safe place to call home.

Happy Endings!

Willie

Here’s the story of Willie, who went from being a raggedy little black orphaned kitten to a handsome, happy member of a loving household.

Little Willie was probably born sometime in early-mid April 2014. He wasn't in very good shape, as you can see in the picture below, when he first appeared in rural Crawford County. He has come a long way in becoming a healthy, delightful, friendly and of course playful little fellow. Now he is living in his permanent home with an older cat, Stewart, and Bella, his lively dog companion and most recently Skittles a white kitty. Here’s a letter and some pictures from the woman who gave Willie a great home!

Dear Casa, As you can see Willie is right at home. And yes, Stuart has been getting extra love as I don't want him to think I forgot about him. :):) Willie is so funny he has Bella thinking she is a cat now. :) He sleeps with us at night. I have found that if you move your feet at night they will be attacked. ha ha!! He is such a goof ball. He loves his catnip filled mice. I have to keep digging them out from under the couch. Thank you for everything and have a great rest of the weekend!

And just recently, Willie's Mom wrote and sent a picture of Willie and Skittles with their early Christmas present (see picture)

Willie has grown to be such a handsome young man. So funny too. Skittles is doing fantastic. She just went for her rabies shot and last distemper yesterday. She came with to Petco to pick out the cat tree. :) Everyone is getting along so well. I comb/brush Willie several times a day as his hair is so long. I have been trying to get them used to getting their teeth brushed, but they would rather play with the toothbrush.

Happy Endings!

Cooper

Here’s a story of Cooper, who has become a brilliant therapy dog and a loving companion

A family had been on vacation in Florida and when they returned to the cold and snow of our Wisconsin winters, they found a very pregnant dog in their dog house. They called CASA and a volunteer took her in and cared for her through her delivery. One of those little puppies was Cooper. The mother dog was named Hope by our volunteer.

Six months later, a CASA volunteer brought Krista to meet a CASA dog – not Cooper – and that was the fateful day that brought Cooper and Krista together. Cooper chose Krista. He sat quietly next to Krista and snuggled in with her. He warmed up and made it quite clear he had picked her. She was looking for a dog as her last one had passed away with cancer.

Krista wants to share how their lives have been since she adopted Cooper :

Cooper is a beagle, basset, lord-know-what-else mix. He is the most laid back, affectionate dog I have met. I decided to share his love and affection with others so we worked towards becoming a canine therapy team. He graduated from AKC Puppy Obedience class and was certified an AKC All-Star puppy in the summer of 2009. We continued training with Loving Paws LLC in Kenosha through his Canine Good Citizen certification in the Summer of 2010
We took a Delta Society Canine Therapy class through the Wisconsin Humane Society in Fall of 2010 to prepare us to test in November. We became a registered Delta Society Canine Therapy team in November 2010.

I continued training with Hospice Alliance in Kenosha so Coop and I could work with hospice patients. We were assigned our first hospice patients in March 2011. Each week, we visit patients with memory-related illnesses at a local facility in Kenosha.

Cooper and I have also been involved with other community and church sponsored events in the Kenosha area. Delta Society, now Pet Partners, require canine therapy teams to be re-evaluated every 2 years. Cooper and I took a refresher Canine Therapy prep class with DogDom International this past fall and successfully re-certified with Delta Society/Pet Partners in November 2012.

In his spare time, Cooper likes to go hiking with his canine hiking club. He also enjoys running the canine agility course but we are not competitive. (As a hound, he is kind of a poke especially through the weave poles). He has also dabbled in K-9 Noseworks.

Happy Endings!

Maggie's Guardian Angels

Here’s a story of Maggie, a beautiful black lab who had more than one guardian angel in her journey home

A kind man, a dog lover himself, found Maggie when he was driving home one evening in the dark, and saw a sad little dog in the middle of the road. He brought her home and called a CASA volunteer who took Maggie in. And the rest is another happy ending story of a sad, little, lost dog becoming a found, happy member of a permanent home. Here are pictures and some stories from the people who adopted Maggie:

Hello,

I wanted to send you a little holiday email and show you all how Maggie's doing. She just turned a year last month by my calculation, but since I don't know exactly when her birthday is, I'm planning to celebrate her "Gotcha" day in a couple months.

She is the most amazing dog. I just ADORE her. When she comes and squeaks her toy by my knee while I'm practicing piano. How she gets so excited when myself or my roommate comes home, or my brother or sister come over. How she knows when to be a guard dog and when to be friendly. Her spunk and athleticism. Her responsiveness, so that I rarely have to tell her 'no' more than once, so that we have all kinds of voice commands we use now, and so I can call her off of chasing squirrels and rabbits if I need to.

She is so sweet. We call her Maggie-may, The Magpie (she does like to take things and keep them in her kennel or with her in her bed, such as fruit off the counter, my mittens, hats, shoes/boots, or clothes -doesn't chew on them, just collects them, if she's home alone), and Ms. Maggie Feather-Buns (for the feathery fur on the backs of her haunches), Wiggle-sausage, Star Heart and occasionally Twinkle Paws.

I hope all is well with all of you. I'd love to bring Maggie for a visit sometime if you would like to see her.

Best.

Hannah

Happy Endings!

A STORY OF SURVIVAL AND A LOVING HOME

Here’s a story of a young, lab/basset mix:

DUKE was seen by a young woman driving along a highway near Prairie du Chien. He was tied up by the road. When she pulled over to check on him, someone else stopped behind her and told her he'd been tied up there for three days. Three days in late November with no food or water and traffic whizzing by wouldn't be easy for anybody but he welcomed the kindness of this stranger. The woman took him home with her, bathed him, bought him a new collar (his current one was way too tight!) and toys, then called CASA. We took him in, and after vet care and being fostered, he found the forever family who would make everything right in the world for him. Here are pictures and some words from his family:

Thought I'd let you know how Duke is coming along.

He is housebroken now and knows how to sit. We are working on shake and stay--stay is coming altho when he knows we are going somewhere--he is all excited to go with!

He has had no more seizures since the one in July--thank god.

He loves Jim--he is Jim’s dog.

When we are camping, and he gets cold, he will stand at Jims legs and push them apart, and then he curls up and lays down with his head laying against his leg. A VERY SPOILED ROTTEN LITTLE DOG!!!!!

If you'd like to see him again we could certainly meet you and you can see for yourself how spoiled he is!!!!

Happy Endings!

SEE JAZZ IN HIS NEW HOME

Just wanted to update you on Jazz. We love him! Here are some pictures and a characature my husband drew that I believe captures our little Jazz completly.

He is truly a joyous little soul and we are blessed to have him. He is full of growl and munches on us regularly. He bugs us on a regular basis around 7:00 in the evening so we go up stairs and play with him. We laugh ourselves hoarse to see him racing in circles around the living room. He is a real clown. His little short legs are a blur when he runs. Did we mention that we love him? He sleeps with my daughter every night and wakes us up with great enthusiasm in the morning.

He loves sitting in his special throne in the car and pouts when we leave him at home. My husband says he mopes when Shannon and I leave in the morning. His favorite play thing is a plastic egg that is just the right size to not quite fit in his mouth.

He is very cat like in the way he plays and uses his paws. Oops - he is telling me it is time to go and play... Thanks again for allowing us to share our lives with this special little creature!

A Happy Ending

ZIGGY'S NEW DIGS

Ziggy came to CASA in 2007 and was fostered in one of our volunteer homes. The family who adopted Ziggy wants to share these pictures and his story:

Ziggy was adopted from CASA July of 2007 to his new home in La Crosse. He
lives there as an only animal, but does have a human sibling, Michael (5),
along with his human parents, Ryan and Mary Jo Lium. His brother quickly
nicknamed him 'The Zig-Man.' Ziggy has worked hard to become a well
mannered, well trained little dog....but in the process has not lost any of
his spunk. He has passed several of obedience courses, with his trainer,
Sahra Jola. In addition to obedience and agility classes, Ziggy has passed
the Canine Good Citizen test and the Therapy Dog International test.

He is a licensed therapy dog, going into nursing homes, schools, hospitals and
high risk adolescent groups. He lives an active lifestyle! Classes, both
obedience and agility, two times a week and therapy work at least once a
week. He is also a party dog. Recently we celebrated his third birthday
with 5 of his four-legged friends and their families. He is a sweet, people
loving dog. He loves people of all ages! The Lium's couldn't have asked
for a better addition to their family than Ziggy, The Zig-Man!